The Saga of the 2001 Daytona 500
By, Felicia Mings
The day was warm
Excitement filled the air
The thrill of the race
Awaited those who dared
No margin for error
They ran in a pack
Three seconds between
The leader and the last
In the blink of an eye
The #20 went flying
Twisting and turning
Leaving the crowd gasping and crying
A spectacular crash
And all walked away
Leaving 18 to wait
And try another day
The race went on
With Chevys in the lead
Earnhardt's team was set to finish
One, two, and three
But a Dodge was ready
To take that away
He had the best car
On the track that day
Only one thing
The Dodge had to do
To win the race
And the prize money too
Get around the Intimidator
In the black #3
Who's unequaled driving
Did not make it easy
One turn left
And the win was in sight
When behind Mike and Junior
Day turned to night
Mike won his first race
As all could see
But the question was
How was 'Big E'
Junior raced from his car
To his Daddy's side
No one knew that
'Big E' had died
He was rushed to the hospital
Just two miles away
Where the #20 driver
Had gone earlier that day
When it was announced
That he was with us no more
Sorrow poured out
From shore to shore
There was none like him
And there will never be again
A friend and a father
A king among men
From now until forever
When we watch a race
We'll always half expect
To see his face
We thought him untouchable
And 10 feet tall
We never expected
To see him fall
When a hero dies
It's hard for us all
To get up and live
For fear that we'll fall
But one day we know
We'll see him again
As he races the black #3
Around the streets of Heaven
And on that day
As the sun shined above
We'll cheer 'Big E'
In the glory of His love.
